The No. 5 Michigan women’s lacrosse team hosted No. 15 Johns Hopkins, seeking a second victory versus the Blue Jays this month to advance to the Big Ten Semifinals in back-to-back seasons. Though backed by roster-depth — including seven players receiving All-Big Ten honors — the Wolverines never led the game, squashing their Big Ten Tournament championship hopes.
Michigan (14-3 overall, 4-3 Big Ten) couldn’t keep up with Johns Hopkins (11-6, 3-4), who punched their ticket to Evanston, Illinois to take on Northwestern. Plagued by turnovers in the first half, the Wolverines figured out how to penetrate the Blue Jays’ defense too late.
Offensive efforts by Johns Hopkins were met with smothering defense by Michigan, a staunch reminder that the Wolverines lead the nation in goals allowed per game and junior goaltender Erin O’Grady owns the best save percentage in the nation.
The story on the other end of the field for Michigan was much different, as small errors and sloppy play produced seven turnovers with just one shot on goal through the first quarter. The Blue Jays struck first, beating O’Grady on their seventh shot.
For the first time this season, the Wolverines failed to score in the first frame. The second quarter replicated the first, as Johns Hopkins shot another pair of goals past O’Grady to extend its lead to 3-0. Michigan coach Hannah Nielsen promptly called a timeout in hopes of halting the Blue Jays’ momentum.
“We came out pretty uncharacteristic … it wasn’t the team that I saw in practice,” Nielsen said. “The first half wasn’t good enough. We were being dictated. Too many turnovers.”
The Wolverines seemed to shake off the rust, connecting on passes in the offensive zone to create a scoring opportunity that would be turned away. The misfortune continued for Michigan as Johns Hopkins capitalized on a yellow card and took a commanding 4-0 lead. Senior attacker Lily Montemarano was the first to perforate the defense with a goal, but the Blue Jays would respond immediately, restoring their four goal lead.
Through the first half of play, the Wolverines committed 14 turnovers. Yet another defensive zone turnover made way for Johns Hopkins to bury its sixth goal, and another shot trickled past O’Grady as the Blue Jays extended their lead to 7-1.
But the tide began to turn when junior attacker Jill Smith cut the deficit back to five, burying a free position shot. Michigan started to heat up on offense, adding another pair of goals, but their kryptonite would be goaltender Madison Doucette who registered four saves in the third quarter.
The momentum shift favoring the Wolverines would carry into the fourth quarter, as junior attacker Kaylee Dyer’s diving shot coupled with a free position goal brought Michigan within one. The Blue Jays piled on another pair of goals to pull ahead 9-6, but the Wolverines weren’t finished. Three Michigan goals in only 65 seconds tied the game for the first time since it was 0-0.
Four quarters wasn’t enough to declare a winner — not even an overtime period could. It was in the sixth period that Johns Hopkins scored to put the game away.
“I have full confidence that we will be in the NCAA Tournament,” Nielsen said. “We may have made our road a little tougher, but I think once you get into May, anything can happen. Now it’s about resting, recovering, fine tuning and sharpening the knife for when we’re going to get rolling on May 5th.”
Michigan struggled to get through Johns Hopkins defense, and when it did, Doucette was often primed to swallow the attempt. The Wolverines came up just short of conquering a six goal deficit, but ultimately, their first half blunders was where they got defeated.